TV judge’s ‘disgusting’ Diana crash joke
DANCING On Ice judge Jason Gardiner was called “disgusting” yesterday for making fun of the death of Princess Diana.
The Australian choreographer, who joined the ITV ice skating show back in 2006, put up an Instagram picture from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding last weekend.
It showed a stern-looking Queen glancing at the former Suits actress inside St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
But it was his accompanying caption which quickly led to a fierce online backlash.
Referring to Diana’s death in Paris in 1997, he wrote: “When you’re plotting a car crash but remember you already used that idea once before,” alongside a laughing emoji.
And the controversial post was further captioned: “How long do you reckon Markle has?”
Outraged followers quickly hit back, accusing Gardiner of being both “inappropriate” and “disrespectful”.
“I’m shocked and saddened by this disgraceful post @thejasongardiner,” one user told him.
“Those poor boys lost their mother in a tragic accident and had to share their grief with the world,” a second agreed. While another wrote: “Lovely to see them both happy !!!!! Absolutely hate this post. Disgusting and inappropriate post.”
And another shocked Instagram user declared: “Have lost all respect for you now – after that remark, you’ve lost a follower and fan of yours.”
But some defended the post, insisting it was clearly intended to be a joke.
“It’s just so Jason (tongue in cheek) I don’t understand why you are following Jason if you don’t appreciate his naughty humour,” one user wrote.
Gardiner, 46, did not delete the post and was unavailable for comment on the furore it caused.